Worldwide

Irish Spiritan elected Superior General

John Fogarty C.S.Sp. (60) has been elected Superior General of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. The election took place at the Spiritans’ 8-yearly General Chapter which is currently being held in Tanzania.

Born in Finglas and educated in St. Vincent’s CBS, Glasnevin, Fr Fogarty graduated from UCD. Having earned a licentiate in sacred theology (STL) at Fribourg University in Switzerland, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1981.

Currently the Congregational leader in the US where he had also worked for a time in the Spiritan University in Duquesne, Pittsburgh, Fr Fogarty’s first experience as a missionary priest was in Ghana, West Africa. He subsequently served in administration both in the Irish Province and in the international headquarters in Rome where he will again be based.

There are over 2,800 Spiritan priests, brothers and (lay) associates worldwide, the largest groups being from Nigeria, France and Ireland. Spiritans are the largest male religious congregation in Ireland.

Founded over 300 years ago in France, Spiritans have been in Ireland for over a century and a half and are best known to many through their long involvement in education. With the evangelisation of the poor as their mission, Spiritans currently administer a number of parishes in west Dublin as well as one in the Diocese of Elphin, while a number of Spiritans are involved in chaplaincy and social ministry. Irish Spiritan missionaries continue to serve in many parts of the English-speaking world as well as in countries such as Brazil, Ethiopia, Kenya and Pakistan while the Congregation’s newest mission is in South Sudan.

Bagamoyo in Tanzania, which can trace its Spiritan connections back to the 1860s, is hosting the Congregation ‘s twentieth General Chapter. It is the first time that the Chapter has been held in Africa.

The only Irishman to previously hold the role of Superior General of the Spiritans, then known as the Holy Ghost Fathers, was Fr Francis Griffin from Clare who held the position from 1950 to 1962.

In this Section...

John Fogarty C.S.Sp. (60) has been elected Superior General of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. The election took place at the Spiritans’ 8-yearly General Chapter which is currently being held in Tanzania.
Read more »

Lay people have been associated with the Spiritan Congregation since the foundation of the order,working at many different levels of partnership. At present there are Associates in many countries around the world. Read more »

Spiritan responses to JPIC issues in Ireland are deeply rooted in Christian values. Justice is understood in terms of correct relationships with God, people and the environment. We believe that a just society is one that is structured in such a way as to promote these right relationships so that human rights are defended, human dignity is promoted, human development is facilitated and the environment is respected and protected. Read more »

The Irish Spiritan Chapter in 2006 decided that the Province would undertake a new initiative and, after careful discussion, a focus on "Integrity of Creation" was chosen. The urgency of taking action was impressed upon the participants through seminars held over a period of months. Read more »

Spiritan (Holy Ghost) Missionaries are remembered where they are buried. They are buried in many different places, often in their mission countries. Those who died in Ireland are buried in: Kimmage, Deans Grange, Rockwell, Blackrock, Dardistown, Shanganagh and a small number in parish cemeteries throughout Ireland. Read more »

The Office of Spiritan Mission Services aspires to network with the many friends of Spiritans who wish to give time, skills and commitment to mission service overseas and in Ireland.
We welcome people who share our faith perspective to experience the Spiritan way of mission, a journey of faith and development motivated by the transforming energy of the Gospel. Read more »

About us

We are a Roman Catholic Congregation of Priests, Brothers and Lay Associates. Our congregation was founded in Paris in 1703 by a young 24 year old Breton Lawyer, Claude Poullart des Places.

He founded a community for young men who wished to become priests and dedicated it to the Holy Spirit.